Not long after drinking a nice warm cup of chamomile tea, your only thought will be retiring for the night. Make sure to get  good quality and if possible an organic source of chamomile. Remember if you buy inferior herbs you will get inferior results. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995283/].

 Skullcap

    American skullcap is an herb with sedative properties. Skullcap has an even stronger effect on insomnia than chamomile does. Remember our lessons about herbal synergy? The message was that some herbs work even better when they are used as a team. While we are going to go over some great herbs that can be used alone, toward the end of the article we will learn about some effective herbal combinations for insomnia. Skullcap can be used as a tincture, tea, or capsule.

Magnesium

We have covered magnesium before on this page, and we will probably cover it numerous times. Why? Because magnesium is a very important nutrient that the human body needs for at least 300 different chemical reactions in the body. And it is estimated that 80% of the population is deficient! For most people a test to measure magnesium in the blood usually shows normal levels. But to get a closer look, a cellular magnesium test needs to be performed, with this test many individuals will fall short.

 With that being said, taking extra magnesium is a good idea whenever you are dealing with insomnia. Magnesium is known as the relaxation mineral. There are many different forms of magnesium on the market, some forms absorb better than others. From my experience, the Calm brand of magnesium works best for most people. Calm magnesium comes in powder form that is mixed with warm water. The powder taken in warm water helps the body quickly and effectively absorb the magnesium. Drinking a glass of Calm about an hour before bedtime can make a huge difference in the quality of your sleep.

But don’t fear, this is rare and only affects a small number of people. Another thing to remember is that some that blame valerian on making their insomnia worse, could be wrong. There are a great number of things that can cause or worsen insomnia. With all that said, if you find that valerian keeps you up, don’t take it, but for the vast majority, valerian is the herb that you were looking for to put  you to sleep. Valerian can be taken as a tincture, tea, and capsule. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10761819/].

 Hops

   The herb hops have a long history of treating insomnia. And you don’t have to drink beer to get your daily hops dose, besides most beer is full of Roundup, and alcohol is dehydrating to the body. [https://www.ecowatch.com/glyphosate-wine-beer-testing-2553632957.html]. So what can you do? Get a hops tincture, capsule, or buy the dried or fresh herb and brew a pot of tea. Many herbalists recommend combining hops with valerian. Again, certain herbal combinations enhance the effect that you are looking for. This doesn’t mean that if all you have is hops that it would be a waste of your time to brew some hops tea. Use what you have on hand, but as always buy a high - quality organic bag of hops. Cheap poor quality herbs are a waste of your time and money and they will not work. Hops should ease your stress and anxiety and give you a good night’s sleep.

One study found that a combination of passionflower, valerian, and hops, worked just as well as Ambien to improve primary insomnia. But the most important part is that these herbs are safe and Ambien isn’t.[ https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/ambien-addiction/ambien-dangers/#gref]. [https://universityhealthnews.com/daily/stress-anxiety/passionflower-benefits-anti-anxiety-and-insomnia-without-the-side-effects/].

Lavender oil

    The essential oil of lavender is a great remedy for insomnia. Studies have shown improved sleep quality in patients suffering from chronic insomnia. A lot of the studies used lavender oil in an essential oil diffuser. The scent of lavender has a sedating effect on the nervous system. Lavender has been successful in improving the sleep quality of students, patients with heart disease, and middle - aged women suffering from chronic insomnia. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3612440/]. So it looks like if you are suffering from insomnia, it would be a good practice to diffuse a little lavender oil in your sleeping quarters. Other studies claim that rubbing lavender oil on the body doesn’t seem to help insomnia. Everyone is different and there are some individuals that do experience an improvement of insomnia by massaging the oil into the skin. Remember that your skin is highly absorbable and the body can uptake herbs into your system that are massaged into your skin. Foot soaks in lavender infused water and baths is another excellent way of using lavender to induce sleep.

Linden Flower

   Linden flower is the flower of the linden tree. This herb is normally used for nervous tension, insomnia, and anxiety. The linden flower is also used for high blood pressure caused by chronic nervous tension. Linden flower is a great herb for insomnia. Linden flower can be taken as a tea or tincture before bedtime. 1 cup of the tea or 1 tsp of the tincture should put you fast to sleep.

California Poppy

    I know what you are thinking. If you are thinking that the opium plant is illegal to use, your right. The good news is that California Poppy is not an opiate and is perfectly safe and legal. California Poppy is a great herb for insomnia, if you can’t sleep, then California Poppy is a must- have herb. If you are chronically stressed and anxious, California Poppy is a godsend. A cup of poppy tea or 1 to 2 droppers full before bed should make dreamland a lot easier to find. California Poppy should only be used for up to 3 weeks at a time, then take a week or two off.

Taking the herb with breaks in between will ensure that the body doesn’t get used to it. This practice will ensure that the herb won’t lose its effectiveness.

Wild Lettuce

    Wild Lettuce is a member of the sunflower family. Wild Lettuce was used by physicians in the 19th century for restlessness and insomnia. When injured, a milky white substance flows freely from the plant. The milky white substance contains one of the active ingredients of the plant known as lactucarium. While this herb can be found readily around your neighborhood, it is a much safer and convenient option to buy a tincture of the herb.

Lemon Balm

   Lemon Balm seems to be building in popularity for stress relief, and with good reason. Lemon Balm has been used by herbalists for many years to reduce anxiety, nervousness, and insomnia. Studies are now showing Lemon Balm’s effectiveness for anxiety and insomnia. Some studies have shown to lower insomnia in some individuals by as much as 42%. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22207903]. In another study, a valerian root and lemon balm combo were able to improve insomnia in menopausal women. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24199972]. Lemon Balm is a safe herb to try if you are suffering from insomnia. Lemon balm can be used as a tincture, tea, or capsule.

Herbal Formulas

     Remember when we learned about herbal synergy? Good. Now we will touch on a few different combinations that will really chip away at your insomnia. The first two are high- quality ready- made products. Dr. Christopher’s Relax-Eze and Dr. Schulze’s Nerve Formula are two of the best quality formulas on the market today. Now if you like to buy single herbs and make your own mixtures, let us go over a few. The first combination is skullcap, hops, and gentian root. The second combo is valerian and hops. The third combination is skullcap, valerian, and passionflower. The fourth combination is valerian, catnip, and linden flowers. All of these combos can be brewed as a tea or if you want you can make a tincture with the combinations. If you don’t know how to make a herbal tincture, there are plenty of resources online that can guide you.

Herbal Combinations

  Remember when we learned about herbal synergy? Good. Now we will touch on a few different combinations that will really chip away at your insomnia. The first two are high-quality ready made products. Dr. Christopher’s Relax-Eze and Dr. Schulze’s Nerve Formula are two of the best quality formulas on the market today. Now if you like to buy single herbs and make your own mixtures, lets go over a few. The first combination is skullcap, hops, and gentian root. The second combo is valerian and hops. The third combination is skullcap, valerian, and passionflower. The fourth combination is valerian, catnip, and linden flowers. All of these combos can be brewed as a tea or if you want you can make a tincture with the combinations. If you don’t know how to make a herbal tincture, there are plenty of resources online that can guide you.

Exercise

     We all know that exercise is very important for our health and longevity. If you are having trouble sleeping, starting an exercise routine may be all you need to get your sleep back on track. Studies have looked at what type of exercise seems to elicit the greatest effect on insomnia. A study comparing moderate aerobic activity, high- intensity aerobic activity, and moderate intensity strength training on insomnia found that the moderate- intensity aerobic group was the only one that experienced insomnia improvement. This makes sense considering that anxiety and stress common culprits for insomnia.

Vigorous exercise can be another stressor, especially if you are already suffering from a stress disorder like insomnia. More gentle exercise is a stress reducer, moderate aerobics can exert a relaxing effect on the body. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2883039/]. This is probably one reason why yoga has been shown to improve insomnia, yoga is a very effective form of relaxing exercise after all tight inflexible muscles will do little to help relaxation. [https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sleep-newzzz/201210/yoga-can-help-insomnia]. one thing is for sure, we are all unique and studies can be limiting.

 So if a hard strength training workout helps you sleep then by all means do it! After all, to have a balanced exercise routine you must perform some form of resistance training, aerobic, and flexibility training. Just listen to your body, if you are suffering from insomnia, experiment and see what type and intensity of exercise works form you.

Earthing or Grounding

    Our bodies collect static electricity through the top of the head. This electricity is essential for our bodies, but it has to be grounded.  This process used to work smoothly when people lived more closely with the earth and nature, now a lot of us live most of our lives indoors and rarely get out in nature. This static electricity comes through the top of our heads and down our spines, through the body and leaves through the bottoms of our feet. But if we are always wearing shoes and rarely if ever walk barefoot on the earth, the electricity stays in the body. When this electricity can’t leave the body it becomes toxic to the body and new static electricity can’t enter our bodies. This toxic build-up can cause stress and insomnia. But the fix is easy. Spend a few minutes outside everyday walking barefoot on your lawn or some other peaceful piece of earth. There are many other health benefits of grounding, benefits include reducing the thickness of the blood, reduces inflammation, strengthens the immune system, reduces pain, speeds healing, and vagal tone improvement. This is an overlooked health practice with tremendous health benefits. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4378297/]. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28987038]. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22757749].

Blue Light

While modern technologies like the internet and smartphones have changed many things for the better, there are some downsides when it comes to you experiencing a good night’s sleep. Smartphones , tablets, computers, and some modern light bulbs expose you to blue light. Exposure to blue light during waking hours can be beneficial, but nighttime exposure comes with some unhealthy consequences. The first one is sleeplessness and the inability of the body to produce melatonin. Blue light also interferes with our circadian rhythms and quality of sleep.

If this situation is going on over a long period of time, negative health consequences can develop. Our risk for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, immune function, and overall quality of life increase dramatically. Proper sleep is right up there with a proper plant- based diet as far as long term health is concerned. So what can you do about the blue light nemesis?

 One thing is to avoid technology after the sun goes down, of course in the era of technology addiction and late- night office work, that might not be feasible. Most devices have blue light filtering apps, if your device doesn’t, the apps can be downloaded. Blue light blocking glasses are another option. There is also blue light blocking filters for screens. You also want to check what kind of light bulbs that you are using in your house. LED bulbs produce a significant amount of blue light. There are some blue light free light bulbs on the market now, some of these are the Lighting Science FG-02263 Goodnight Sleep Bulb, SORAA Healthy A19 LED Dimmable 600-Lumen Soft White, Sleepy Baby LED Nursery Light and the Nite-Nite Light Bulb. [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170822103434.htm]. [https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side].

Tryptophan

   The amino acid tryptophan has a track record for helping insomniacs. It makes complete sense when you realize tryptophan is a precursor for serotonin, tryptamine, and melatonin. So this fact makes it a pretty important player in insomnia. Tryptophan isn’t hard to come by if you eat a healthy plant- based diet, but in studies, a supplemental form of tryptophan was used. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3090582]. Tryptophan can be used in single large doses or multiple smaller doses. Some studies show that multiple small doses work better in more well established or severe insomnia.

Stress

   Stress is a contributor to every disease state under the sun. If you are chronically stressed or at dis-ease, insomnia can develop. A lot of people have trouble falling asleep at night because of their racing thoughts, they can’t seem to turn their minds off. If this is you, it would benefit you to find stress reduction techniques. There are many effective stress reducing techniques that you can employ. Techniques include tapping, biofeedback therapy, yoga, meditation, prayer, counseling, deep breathing exercises, body scan, and guide imagery. But you have to be honest with yourself. If you are truly unhappy with your life, whether it be a job you hate, an abusive marriage, abusive friends, past traumas, etc., only you know what is bothering you. I encourage you to get out of the situation and get help if need be. We all deserve to live a happy stress-free life, but you have to work on creating it.

Closing

  So as you can see, when you are treating yourself holistically, you have to look at the whole picture. By eating a nourishing plant- based diet, ensuring that you avoid as many chemicals as possible, implementing detoxification, maintaining or improving bowel health, exercise, stress reduction, herbs, hydration, etc. While all of these principles may seem overwhelming at first, remember that you are worth it, you are worth taking care of. No one else is going to look after your health but you. So if you are suffering from insomnia, implement some of the herbs and lifestyle changes that we have discussed. Once you start implementing healthy lifestyle changes, you must give the changes time to work. Remember it took a long time to develop a health problem, so it will take time to reverse it. Three months is a good time frame to start seeing health improvements, stay consistent and in time you can conquer insomnia.

Chamomile

 I can’t say enough good things about the wonderful herb chamomile. Chamomile tea 30 minutes before bedtime can work wonders for insomnia. Chamomile has a sedating effect on the central nervous system.